Dictionaries and Thesauri

by Lisa Binion

Dictionaries and thesauri are reference books that every writer needs to keep close by. A dictionary should be consulted not only to find the meanings of words, but also to check for their correct spelling. The spell-check feature in Word is great, but you will run into problems if you misspell the word that needs to be used by accidentally using a completely different word that is spelled correctly. Your spell-checker doesn't have a brain. How is it supposed to know that you meant to use another word?

Saham sent a viscuos volley of small arms and mortars into the advancing army.

Take a second to read through the above sentence and see if you can spot the mistake. Did you manage to find it? Viscuos is the incorrect word. Not only is it spelled wrong, it was not the word meant to be used. Viscous means thick and sticky. The word that the author meant to use was vicious. The sentence should read - Saham sent a vicious volley of small arms and mortar into the advancing army.

Now, see if you can discover the wrong word in this sentence - In twenty minuets, we find a place to hide and take cover.

This is one that the spell-checker would not have caught. Minuets is a word and it is spelled correctly, but a minuet is either a particular dance or the music for that type of dance, not a passage of time. The word meant to be used was minutes.

Then we have homonyms, words that sound just alike, but have different meanings and completely different spellings. These words confuse so many individuals. Many people who wouldn't notice if you mixed-up some homonyms, but as a writer, you really don't want to use the wrong word. There, their, and they're are some great examples of frequently confused homonyms. There tells location - The shoes are over there in the corner. Their is possessive and shows ownership - Their shoes are over there in the corner. They're is a contraction and means 'they are' - They're on the way to get their shoes from over there. Your spell-checker would not count any of the above homonyms wrong, even if you used them in an incorrect way.

If a word is used in a way that you think could be wrong, you might want to look up the definition. You might just not be familiar with all of its meanings. For example, did you know that the word 'candle' can also be a verb? Don't believe me? Look it up.

Why would a thesaurus, a book that contains lists of synonyms, be needed? A synonym is a word that means almost the exact same thing as another word, but it does not sound the same and is spelled completely different. Hat is the example word I am going to use.

Let's say you have a character who is known for wearing a hat. You don't want to say that he just wears a hat; there are so many different types of hats and they each look so unique.

If your character happens to live in Australia, perhaps he would wear a bush hat, a cowboy hat with the brim turned up on one side. A sombrero, a Mexican broad hat made of straw or felt, would be worn if your character was in Mexico. Does your character dress like Sherlock Holmes? Then he would wear a deerstalker. One in the Scottish Highland Military would wear a glengarry.

What about your female characters? A soft, domelike hat for women that is pulled down over the forehead is a cloche. A bejeweled, decorated skullcap for weddings and evening wear is a Juliet. A knitted winter hat is known as a watch cap.

All of the above words for hat, as well as their meanings, can be found in Roget's Super Thesaurus, Second Edition.

“What does it matter if there are fifty different ways to say something?” you ask. “If it is a hat, I'll just call it a hat.” Have you ever read a paragraph or a page where the exact same word is repeated time and time again? Maybe I'm the only one that it affects this way, but that drives me crazy. The story loses some of its oomph and becomes a real drag to read if that happens.

For example:
The light fixtures were the first thing Mary looked at when she entered the room. So many beautiful ones sat all around the room, she couldn't stop looking at each one of them. The first one she looked at looked as though it would cast a warm, soft glow throughout whatever room it was in.

That was a terrible, boring paragraph without hopes of going anywhere. Let me see if I can help it any at all.

The light fixtures were the first thing Mary beheld when she entered the room. So many beautiful ones were displayed around the room, she couldn't resist admiring them individually. The first one she feasted her eyes on appeared as though it would cast a warm, soft glow throughout whatever room it graced.

I think you will agree the second example is so much easier to read. With a thesaurus, you can make sure you use a variety of words that will help you magically transform whatever you write into something interesting and fun to read.

When online, you can go to www.onelook.com if you need to look up the definition of a word. This site gives you a list of online dictionaries that define the word you need. For a thesaurus, go to www.thesaurus.com. Both of these sites are visited frequently by me.

Homonyms from Cite to Coaled

by Lisa Binion

Homonyms are words that sound just alike, yet are spelled differently and have completely different meanings. These words are easily confused by many people, even writers. How many of the following words did you realize were homonyms? Please realize, I don't give every meaning for each word. Consult your dictionary for a complete understanding of each word.

cite, sight, and site
Cite means to quote, to mention in support or proof of, to summon, or to call to mind.
The attorney will cite the constitution in her client's defense.
Sight means a view or glimpse.
The distracted mouse was totally unaware that the cat had him in its sight and was preparing to pounce.
A site is the position of a town or building. It is also the address of something on the internet. As a verb, it means to put in a position for operation.
The site of David's business was in the heart of the Appalachians.
David's grandfather taught him to site a rifle.

cited, sighted, and sited
Cited is the past tense of cite.
The attorney cited the constitution in her client's defense.
Sighted is the past tense of sight.
The distracted mouse was totally unaware that the cat had sighted him and was preparing to pounce.
Sited is the past tense of site.
David sited the rifle before shooting at the unsuspecting deer.

cites, sights, and sites
You should already know the meanings of the above words, so I'm just going to give some example sentences. You would use this tense of verb when writing in the present tense.
The attorney cites the constitution in her client's defense.
The unsuspecting mouse is totally unaware of what is happening as the cat sights him and prepares to pounce.
David sites the rifle before shooting the unsuspecting deer.

Claus, clause, and claws
Everyone knows who Claus is. He is the fat, jolly guy who is supposed to bring gifts.
Melinda hid behind the couch on Christmas Eve to see if she could catch sight of Santa Claus when he snuck into the house with their gifts.
A clause is a provision in a treaty, will, or other legal document.
The clause in the will stated that Matthew had to complete college before he would receive his inheritance.
Claws are the sharp , curved nails of an animal.
The dog's owners have to take him to the vet every time he his claws need trimmed.

clew and clue
A clew is a ball or skein of thread or yarn.
Granny stuck her knitting needles in the lavender clew.
A clue is a hint.
The murderer unintentionally left behind a myriad of clues..

click and clique
A click is a slight, sharp sound.
Precious was trained to listen for the click of the latch.
A clique is an exclusive group.
The trio of rich girls formed a clique and refused to become friends with anyone else.

climb and clime
When you climb, you go up or ascend.
George took care when he needed to climb the old and rickety ladder.
Clime is the climate or weather conditions.
The moderate clime in the valley persuaded the Johnson family to sell their home and move.

close and clothes
When you close something, you shut it.
Please close the door when you leave.
Clothes are garments.
Their new clothes are all washed and ready to wear.

coal and cole
Coal is a combustible mineral substance used as fuel.
Jack's father worked in the coal mines of West Virginia.
Cole is a curly-leafed cabbage. Wow. I wonder if that is how they came up with the word 'coleslaw'.
Jennifer picked some cole out of the garden to go with dinner.

coaled and cold
Coaled means to supply with coal.
The coaled-up locomotives steamed down the tracks; the others just sat still.
Cold means chilly or at a lower temperature than what is comfortable.
The fall nights are beginning to turn cold.

Homonyms from Chased to Chute

by Lisa Binion

It pays for writers to know their homonyms and the proper use of each one. It is a shame that so many people, including many writers, have homonym issues. I have seen mixed up homonyms in books, in articles, and even in newspaper stories.

chased and chaste
When you chase someone or something, you run after it. Chased is the past tense of chase.
Jilly chased the rolling ball down the hill.
Chaste means pure and virginal.
Stephen thought that all hope of meeting a chaste woman had vanished, then he was introduced to Mina.

check and Czech
One can write a check for services rendered. When you check into something, you make inquiries about it.
In the past, Jasmine had such bad luck in relationships that she hired a detective to check out her date.
A Czech is a person from the country of Czechoslovakia.
The Czech had no problem obtaining a passport to visit Canada.

chews and choose
When one chews food, one grinds it up with his teeth. When one thinks long and hard about an issue, one chews it over in one's mind.
Dorothea is so scared of choking when eating, she chews each bite of food for at least 5 minutes.
When you choose something, you pick it out from a number of different possibilities.
Anthony had so many books that sounded good to choose from, he had trouble deciding which one to buy.

Chile, chili, and chilly
Chile is a country in South America.
Robert and Samantha bought plane tickets for their trip to Chile.
Chili is a spicy stew made with chili peppers, garlic, cumin, garlic, onions, and ground beef.
Chili is one of our favorite meals during the fall and winter.
When the weather is chilly, it is cold enough to be just a bit unpleasant.
Because of the chilly weather, Katrina wore a jacket to the fall festival.

choir and quire
A choir is a group of singers.
During her freshman year in high school, Melissa joined the choir.
Quire, an obsolete spelling of choir, is a set of 24 uniform sheets of paper.
It was necessary for Antonion to fill the quire with what he had learned in his history class.

choler and collar
Choler is anger, wrath, or irritability.
Deborah, afraid of the choler that her abusive husband continued to show, packed her bags and left.
A collar is anything worn or placed around the neck.
Precious is trained to bring me her collar when she wants to go for a walk.

choral and coral
If something is choral, it has to do with a choir.
The choral music found in a box in the attic was hundreds of years old and worth a fortune.
Coral is a marine polyp skeleton.
Coral reefs provide homes for many different marine species.

chorale and corral
A chorale is a group of singers that specialize in singing church music.
The chorale was invited to perform at churches all over the world.
A corral is an enclosure for cows, horses, goats, etc.
Jenny really enjoyed helping to herd the goats into the corral when it was time to trim their hooves.

chord, cored, and cord
In music, a chord is three or more tones sounded at the same time.
Andrea was having trouble learning the keys to play for the G chord.
The core is the innermost, central part of something, so if an apple is cored, the center part of it is removed.
The cored apples were being used to make jam.
A cord is a thin rope.
Jack tied the sticks together with a cord.

chute and shoot
A chute is an inclined channel to convey products to a lower level.
The coal chute needed to be repaired.
When you shoot someone, you injure them with a bullet discharged from a gun.
Jeremy had been trained to shoot any intruders immediately.

Homonyms from Cents to Charred

by Lisa Binion

The majority of the following words have several definitions, so please realize that the definition I give is probably not the only one.

cents, scents, sense
A cent is 1/100th of one dollar, so cents would be more than one cent.
Heather was so broke, she couldn't even afford the pack of gum that cost only 50 cents.
Scents are distinctive odors, especially agreeable ones.
Out of all the scents that flowed throughout the crowded arena, only one of them was disagreeable.
Senses are what we use to perceive our surroundings.
Human beings have five senses.

cere, sear, seer, sere
A cere is the waxy membrane located at the base of the upper beak in certain birds through which their nostrils open.
The parrot's cere, it was discovered upon examination, had become plugged with chewing gum.
To sear is to char, burn, or scorch the surface of.
Mark's goal was to perfectly sear the hamburgers on the grill.
A seer is a clairvoyant or prophet.
The seer somehow seemed to know everything that I had ever done.
Sere means withered or dry.
Because of the recent drought, the landscape was bordered with sere vegetation.

cereal, serial
Cereal is a breakfast food made from commercially processed grain.
Sharon had trouble deciding which cereal to buy from the wide selection available on the shelves of her grocery store.
Serial describes a series of acts, usually criminal, over a perid of time.
The serial killer wasn't caught for 20 very long years.

Ceres, series
Ceres is the closest dwarf planet to the sun.
Ceres has an orbit between Mars and Jupiter.
A series is many objects or events coming in succession one right after the other.
A series of minor tremors soon led to a major earthquake.

cession, session
Cession is the surrendering of rights, property, or territory.
The cession of the property of the state's citizen's was demanded by the terrorists who took over the government.
Session is the part of the year or time of day that school takes place.
School will be in session from the first of September to the end of May.

chalk, chock
Chalk is the substance that a teacher uses to write on the blackboard.
The sound of the chalk squeaking on the blackboard sent chills down the backs of the students.
A chock is a block or wedge placed underneath something to keep it from moving.
All of the correctly shaped scraps of wood were gathered up;each one of them was to be used as a chock.

chance, chants
A chance is a set of circumstances or an opportunity that is favorable.
Robin was thankful for the once in a lifetime chance to work for the best company in her small town.
Chants are a short and simple series of words or syllables sung to a limited range of notes.
There were several chants that the monks sang without fail each day.

chard, charred
Chard is a vegetable and is normally called Swiss chard.
Chard was served as a side dish at the banquet.
Charred means burnt.
The charred piece of metal was disposed of quickly.

Homonyms from Cell to Cent

by Lisa Binion


How many of the following homonyms are you familiar with? There are an endless supply of words that sound alike, yet are spelled differently and even have different meanings in our wonderful English language. I challenge you to learn all of these words, along with their different spellings and meanings, and use them in your writing.

cell, sell
A cell is a small room or a small group.
The cell of terrorists were planning an attack on their unsuspecting allies.
When you sell something, you exchange it for some kind or money.
Are you going to sell your current automobile before you purchase another one? Or are you just going to trade it in?

cellar, seller
A cellar is a room that is at least partway underground and is usually used for the storage of food.
There was enough food in the cellar to last for several years.
A seller is one who sells things.
The seller had a very successful business at the Woolly Worm Festival each year.

censer, censor, and sensor
A censer in something you burn incense in , especially during a religious service.
The altar boy lit the censer.
A censor is one who decides what is fit to be played or shown to the general public, including children.
The censor was due to come and examine the books in the school library.
A sensor is a sense organ or a device which detects light, radiation, temperature, etc.
A sensor was placed in the area that had been bombed to see if any radiation could be detected.

census and senses
A census is a head count.
During the last census, one of the workers was brutally killed here in the backwoods of Kentucky.
People have five senses - sight, smell, hearing, taste, touch – by which we perceive stimuli from inside or outside the body.
Out of all her senses, Jenny hadn't realized how she took her sight for granted, until she lost it in a tragic accident.

cent, sent, scent
A cent is a coin, usually worth one penny.
His grocery bill totaled so much that even though he paid with a hundred dollar bill, he only received one cent in change.
When something, such as a signal is dispatched, it is sent.
Marcia sent her son to the store.
A scent is a distinctive odor, sometimes pleasant, sometimes not so pleasant.
Flowers of plants in the genus Rafflesia have the scent of decaying meat.

Homonyms from Carat to Ceiling

by Lisa Binion

With how many of the following homonyms are you familiar?

carat, caret, carrot, and karat
A carat tells the weight of a precious stone, such as a diamond or sapphire.
Melody’s boyfriend presented her with a 1 carat diamond ring when he proposed marriage to her.
A caret is the mark used by a proofreader to show where something needs to be inserted.
Cecilia's term paper was full of carets when her teacher returned it to her.
A carrot is an orange root vegetable.
Rabbits love to eat carrots.

carol and carrel
A carol is a song, especially a song of joy.
The carol is always sung at Christmas time.
A carrel is a small individual study room or private desk. These are usually in libraries and are places where a person can read or study undisturbed.
Tamara asked for a carrel to be built in her own personal library.

carpal and carpel
A carpal is a bone of the wrist.
Because of the long periods of time spent typing on the computer, Taneisha developed carpal tunnel syndrome.
Carpel is a term used in botany. It is a simple pistil or a single member of a compound pistil.
Sylvia had a great deal of trouble learning the definition of carpel for her botany class.

cast and caste
Cast means to throw.
The fishermen were told to cast their nets into the sea.
A caste is a social class.
People in the Hindu society are divided by caste.

caster and castor
A caster is a person or thing that throws.
Joshua was chosen to be the caster of the ball.
Castor is one of the less commonly known names for beaver.
The young castor was separated from its colony.

cause and caws
One of the definitions of cause is a motivation, a reason for doing something.
The cause for her rejoicing was the fantastic news her husband brought home with him.
Caws are the harsh, grating sounds made by crows.
The crows’ voracious caws disrupted the tranquility of the evening.

cay, key, and quay
I really thought this was a mistake, but I checked the pronunciation of each of the above words. They all are pronounce the same way.
A cay is a small, low island.
There are many cays off the coast of Alaska.
A key is a small metal instrument made to fit into locks and open them.
Darren had a bad habit of losing his house key, so his wife put his new key on a chain for him to wear around his neck.
A quay is a wharf.
The boat pulled up next to the quay.

cedar and seeder
A cedar is an evergreen tree, famous for its fragrant wood.
The drawers of the dresser were made out of cedar wood.
A seeder is one who sows seeds.
Marco managed to be hired on as a seeder at the city’s largest farm.

cede and seed
Cede means to yield.
Jenny did not pass her driving test because she did not cede to the stop sign.
A seed contains the embryo of a plant or vegetable.
Jenny bought some flower seeds for her garden.

ceiling and sealing
A ceiling is the top of a room.
Fred and Liz had trouble deciding if they wanted a smooth or rough ceiling.
Sealing is the homonym of ceiling. When you seal something, you close it securely.
Sealing the envelopes was a thankless job.

Building Bookcases

Starting to get a good collection of books?  Find yourself stacking them on the floor, under the bed, on the nightstand, or wherever else you can find a level place to put them?  What you need is a bookshelf!  You can go to the store to buy one easy enough, but where is the fun in that?   Build your own and some character to the home for your precious books.

When you take the time to be creative and build your own bookshelf, you discover that it can be fun.  You can be whimsical, serious, historical, ethnical, or whatever you like.  What is your favorite thing in the world?  What is your hobby?  Incorporate that into building your own bookshelf.  You do not have to be a professional carpenter to do this.

If you like the outdoors, make your bookshelf out of branches.  All you have to do is go on a hike and pick up some sturdy pieces.  Make sure that they are not rotted.  You can always cut them down if they are too long.  Try to choose some that are not too much more than two inches thick.  How tall do you want the shelves to be?  Most bookshelves are between 12 and 18 inches.  How deep do you want your shelves?  12 inches is a good depth.  Once you decide, you can begin building.  Make sure that you have a hammer, nails, twine, and saw.  Check with your local hardware store on the size of nails to use based on how thick your branches are.  

You want to build the sides to your bookcase first.  Lay down the branch(es) that will make up one side.  About one to two inches from the bottom of the branches and what will be sitting on the floor, use your hammer and nails to connect a piece of a branch horizontal to the frame.  It will look like you are building a ladder.  To reinforce it, you might want to tie some twine around the connection.  This helps to give the bookshelf a rustic look.  Measure your 12 to 18 inches that you have decided on for the height of each shelf.  Add another piece of a branch.  Continue on till you reach the top.  If you have less than a shelf height left at the top, you can use that to display knickknacks.  Once you have one side of your bookshelf complete, do the other side the exact same way.  Verify all measurements.  If the sides are not even, you books will slide and the whole thing will be wobbly.  

Lay the sides facing each other.  You now want to add the base of each shelf.  Use more branches to build that.  Nail them in to the “rungs” of the “ladder” you built.  Continue to the top.  Sit up your bookcase.  Place your books on your new shelf and enjoy.

Using branches is just one way to build your own bookshelf.  Use your imagination.  Or, you can just go to the local building supply store and pick up all the pieces.